While reading The Game of School, I couldn't help but think about all of my wasted time in high school and middle school. This reading opened my eyes as to what I was actually being taught in school, as opposed to how I want to learn. The "game" was to not truly develop and use our creativity, but to memorize and "get the A." This vicious cycle "taught" students about standardized testing, how to take tests, and how to barely scrape by. I remember that growing up, I was taught to believe only the smartest students got the A, the average students' B's, the unmotivated received C's, and the true haters of school got D's and F's.
Looking back, I realize that this is not true. A's were given to the students who had memorized the material, not truly understood it. Getting the highest grade didn't mean that you were better than anyone else, it just meant that you memorized that particular formula or word for that particular test. "...the curriculum is loaded with so much material that it can only be "covered" through constant lecturing and note-taking... Game-playing artificiality replaces authenticity, and enduring learning falls by the wayside. (p122)" I honestly cannot remember a time in high school where teachers really tried to make me find the answers to thought provoking questions. I was only asked to memorize and study for a test. A huge part of my education has always been CMTs, SATs, and ACTs. Teachers made it out that these examinations would affect us for the rest our lives, and put a huge emphasis on testing. The first time I took the SATs, I got an average score. I was beside myself. I had been trained to believe that average was bad, or unacceptable. If I wanted to succeed, I had to get that 'above and beyond' test grade. Perhaps the most important thing I learned in high school came from one teacher. She believed that testing was not an applicable way to test students knowledge, and that a test score did not define your intelligence. While studying for the SATs, she told me that "You don't get smarter suddenly and get a better score. You learn how to take the test. It's not a matter of intelligence." To this day, I agree with her statement. As the reading says, there are negatives and positive aspects about modern schooling, but nothing will change if we don't change our own mindset. We cannot play the game of school as we do and hope for the best or think that it will change on its own. Each of us needs to add and change an aspect of it so that students and teachers are no longer dancing around the subject, but truly learning.
Looking back, I realize that this is not true. A's were given to the students who had memorized the material, not truly understood it. Getting the highest grade didn't mean that you were better than anyone else, it just meant that you memorized that particular formula or word for that particular test. "...the curriculum is loaded with so much material that it can only be "covered" through constant lecturing and note-taking... Game-playing artificiality replaces authenticity, and enduring learning falls by the wayside. (p122)" I honestly cannot remember a time in high school where teachers really tried to make me find the answers to thought provoking questions. I was only asked to memorize and study for a test. A huge part of my education has always been CMTs, SATs, and ACTs. Teachers made it out that these examinations would affect us for the rest our lives, and put a huge emphasis on testing. The first time I took the SATs, I got an average score. I was beside myself. I had been trained to believe that average was bad, or unacceptable. If I wanted to succeed, I had to get that 'above and beyond' test grade. Perhaps the most important thing I learned in high school came from one teacher. She believed that testing was not an applicable way to test students knowledge, and that a test score did not define your intelligence. While studying for the SATs, she told me that "You don't get smarter suddenly and get a better score. You learn how to take the test. It's not a matter of intelligence." To this day, I agree with her statement.
As the reading says, there are negatives and positive aspects about modern schooling, but nothing will change if we don't change our own mindset. We cannot play the game of school as we do and hope for the best or think that it will change on its own. Each of us needs to add and change an aspect of it so that students and teachers are no longer dancing around the subject, but truly learning.